Good, But Disappointing

I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and was very
pleased with how well it stuck to the book. Because of this, I had high
expectations for Part 2. I mean, if you did so well in the first half,
you have to do just as well in the second half, right? Right? Wrong.

The movie started off very well, starting from exactly where it left
off in Part 1 and staying faithful to the book all the way to when
Harry and co break into Hogwarts. That's where it starts to go down
hill.

*Spoilers!*

The good:

- Neville. He was perfectly perfect. I really wish they gave him more
screen time because he was adorable.

- The Gringott's scene. Very well done.

- The emotion we are shown from Snape. Throughout the series, he's been
rather monotonous and emotionless. In the pensieve, we see a different
side of him and it is a refreshing change.

- The battle at Hogwarts. It was intense and wonderfully done.

- Helena Ravenclaw. It was very emotional and creepy. Although they did
not tell us her back story with the Bloody Baron.

- Rupert Grint and Dan Radcliffe shirtless. That's certainly a plus.

OK you know it's bad when I resort to writing about that.

The bad:

- They completely took out the scene where Harry and Luna go into the
Ravenclaw Common Room, where they are ambushed by one of the Carrows.
It appeared as if they would show it, as I hope they would (I've always
wanted to see the other common rooms), but then they don't. Hm.

- Fred's death scene. Gone. Yup. They show his body once at the end and
don't even give you time to grieve before moving on to the next scene.
This was an insult to his character's memory.

- Crabbe's disappeared. Gets replaced by Zabini, and replaced in a
different way by Goyle.

- Snape's memories are rushed and they take out some of the most
interesting memories. They just go through a few of them quickly. I've
always enjoyed the memories, because you get to see life at Hogwarts
through the eyes of someone else for a change, in a different time era.

- Hermione and Ron battle Nagini, and eventually Neville slays the
snake. Eventually. It takes some time getting to that scene.

- There is not a single mention of Teddy Lupin. That is, until the end
when Harry suddenly knows about Lupin's son. Weird, considering Harry
was camping in a forest and hadn't heard of any of this.

- Collin Creevey is replaced by that random Nigel kid.

- The students are not sent home. No, the teachers think it's OK to
just lock the Slytherins in the dungeons and let everybody else stay
and fight.

- Still no mention of the significance of the horcruxes. Hufflepuff's
cup is just a plain old cup that Voldy turned into a horcrux.

- Not enough interaction with characters other than the trio. Too much
Harry. It's as if everybody else just have cameos.

- Random scene where they blow up one of the bridges (ignoring the fact
that there are like 2 other bridges that would take them into the
school).

- Voldemort's and Bellatrix's death = explosion into confetti!

- Percy's on the good side all of a sudden. No explanation at all (a
reoccurring theme with Yates, don't you think?).

- Harry does not fix his old wand with the Elder Wand. No, instead he
takes the Elder Wand and SNAPS IT IN HALF. Is that even possible? I
didn't think so. So Harry breaks the wand and then chucks it into the
abyss. Really Yates, really?

- All of the fun and cheerful dialogue from the future scene has been
resorted to everybody staring and smiling at each other. No explanation
once again. They don't even say who's who! Plus there is absolutely no
chemistry between Dan and Albus Severus. And it was really awkward to
see them all with old make up on.

- Goodbye Dumbledore's back story!

- Too many attempts at one-liners and humorless jokes.

*End of Spoilers*

All in all, all of the personality and charm of the series was zapped
away in an attempts to make this final movie is action-packed as
possible. It's a shame to see something that you've grown up with,
learned to love, taken and twisted into somebody's 'vision.' I mean,
why bother adding your own unimportant scenes to the movie, when there
are perfectly good ones in the book that you did not bother using at
all? There's no...bonding with the characters, no connection with them
you felt in Part 1. I did not feel the love for this movie like I had
with the book. There was just so much significance that was left out of
that movie, and it is such a shame. It had such potential to be a
fantastic movie, and it fell short all because of the changes that were
unnecessarily made.

See the movie, and I'm sure you'll form your own opinion of it. It's
not a bad movie, just disappointing and unsatisfying for a die-hard fan
who's been following the books for 10 years of their life.

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381 out of 576 people found the following review useful:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II gets everything right to send off Harry on a cinematic high

I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter books, they're all so great and
magical. But I didn't think the film series were perfect at all, but
they were still great movies. With that, I was extremely excited to see
the end of the film franchise, and impressed with the trailers. So I
had high expectations. And thankfully it did not disappoint, Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, blew past my already high
expectations and I was enthralled!

The whole movie looked spectacular! The cinematography extremely well
done, the art direction was incredible. The movie was beautiful to look
at, the visuals were spectacular and truly Oscar worthy! The set
designers, cinematographers really need to be awarded for their work,
because it looks like they spend of time and money on the look of the
film.

The cast of the film was pretty much perfect, they should all be
applauded too. Emma Watson, as usual is and great and she'll have a
bright career ahead of her. Rupert Grint is pretty much great also, he
is a fine actor indeed. Daniel Radcliffe did an amazing job and was
very memorable as Harry Potter. Although I think Ralph Fiennes was the
star of the film, he did unbelievable job as the evil, crazy Lord
Voldemort, I think he deserves an Oscar Nomination for his role. The
rest of the cast were also great too.

We all grew up overtime with the series, we followed the adventures of
Harry Potter for around 10 years, I think. It seems very weird that
there will be no more Harry Potter films to look forward too. I will
miss the franchise very much! However I am happy the series got an
amazing ending. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is not
only the best film in the series, but it will probably be one of the
best films of 2011. Everyone should see this film, even if they don't
like past Harry Potter films.

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411 out of 667 people found the following review useful:

Too Bad It Ended Like This

OVerall it was okay, and will make a bunch of money. But David Yates
was not the best to direct the Potter films. His method always seems to
be to just get through the movie as quick as possible. This has been
true since OOTP. The problem is that such a quick pace leaves out many
key scenes and doesn't allow the viewer to make more of an emotional
investment in the story and the characters. Deathly Hallows 2 was no
different. It was enjoyable enough, I suppose. But could have been so
much better with just an additional 10 minutes of movie. A few
additional scenes and extending a few of them just a little more could
have added greater depth and emotion.

Spoiler alert: Just some scenes that could have been added or extended:
Snapes memories- a few more scenes to greater establish his closeness
with Lilly and his role in fighting Voldemort. It would have helped to
explain why Harry named one of his kids after a man he had hated for 7
years. And a few more lines to show his reluctance to have to be the
one to kill Dumbledore. This would have shown Snapes greater respect
and love for him.

Slightly extend the scene leading up to Mrs. Weasley fighting Belatrix.
A few more seconds to establish Jinny's peril in the fight before Mrs.
Weasly stepping in and uttering her great line. IT happened so fast,
you could miss that Jinny was even fighting Belatrix if you blink at
the wrong time.

SHould have shown the death of Fred and Percy's reuniting with the
family. This wouldn't have taken very long and Fred deserved to have
his death scene, rather than just being an afterthought body on a
stretcher.

SHould have shown a few more individual fight sequences, especially
with Hagrid. I was beginning to wonder if Hagrid was even going to
appear. And there was no emotion from him when he thought Harry was
dead.

Extend the scene of Mrs. Malfoy and Harry to better explain why she
lied to Voldemort about Harry being dead.

Should have shown more entities involved in the fight, like parents,
Hogsmead residence, the elves as lead by Kreacher - rather than showing
mainly an army of kids fighting the Death Eaters.

MOre of the school's teachers in the fight.

The final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort could have been
done better and stayed truer to the book.

OVer all, Yates' Harry Potter movies have been rather emotionless and
anti-climatic. DH2, sadly, was no different.

An Exhilarating and Beautiful Conclusion to a Magnificent Saga.

Deathly Hallows part 2 ends this incredibly well produced saga with
tremendous grace and a beautifully orchestrated climax that I am sure
will satisfy both lovers of the books and films.

If you have read the books as I have you will be glad to know major key
moments are intact. Much is missing but I won't dwell on that, no
point, its how well this movie plays out and for me it rolls
wonderfully between excitement, thrills and emotional drama towards a
satisfactory (though a slightly rushed) conclusion.

There are at least 2 sequences so powerful that I defy anyone not to at
least stifle a tear or choke a little. One of those sequence is an
exquisitely executed flashback that is pivotal to the whole story.

I have to say, that despite the woes we book readers have when elements
(big chunks of it too) are omitted from the movies, much credit still
has to go to Steve Kloves for adapting the books for the big screen,
cleverly weaving, changing and even adding new big elements to give a
kinetic flow to the narrative and here it all comes together superbly.

David Yates assured direction has nurtured our young actors in the last
4 films to blossom into even more adept actors who convey their
characters with natural tones without overacting. Daniel Radcliffe had
to carry this movie more than any other and has done so brilliantly
complemented with great support from his two companions, Emma Watson
and Rupert Grint.

Pretty much all the characters we have met in all the movies have made
an appearance in this finale but one actor stands out, Alan Rickman.
His portrayal of Professor Snape has always been a joy to watch (if a
little novel) but here his scenes will leave a dramatic engraving in my
memory. Here he elevates his portrayal of one of the most complex
character in young adult literature to an unforgettable piercingly
emotional one.

Another actor who really shines in the few scenes that he has, is
Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom who we see gradually transforming
over the past films from the clumsy bullied boy to a brave warrior in
this final film. Many other British thespians of the series also have
their few moments to shine especially Maggie Smith's Professor
McGonagal who was a delight to watch as she takes charge of the defence
of Hogwarth School.

As for the spectacle of the battle and showdowns, while not at the
scale of Lord of the Rings, I honestly cant think how it could have
been done better as the film makers have intertwined heart stopping
action with dramatic progressions in the narrative. Its actually more
visceral and dynamic than the rather smaller scale battle of the
brilliant novels (not to take anything away from Rowling's writing).

Do I have any gripes? Yes I do. Although I applaud Steve Kloves for a
difficult screenplay adaption...I think he could still have done better
at explaining some odd anomalies that only readers of the book will
understand. This might annoy you if you haven't read the books. But its
a small gripe because what we get is delightful.

What an amazing achievement to faithfully bring Rowling's epic saga to
the big screen with the same cast and largely the same crew,
maintaining the brilliant quality right to the end.

Oh my god, its only just sinking in, this was the end....but what a
great great end.

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254 out of 407 people found the following review useful:

Epic End

Even though I consider myself to be a huge HP fan I never thought I
would actually give a movie from this series straight 10 out of 10.
Just saw the movie today and the word epic is almost an understatement.
This movie really lives up to the promises that have been made. Further
more it is (in my opinion at least) the movie that stays most loyal to
the book. I did miss some scenes from the book yet nothing relevant was
left out. I don't want to give out any spoilers 'cause I don't want to
ruin it for you but if you have read the book it will be very easy to
follow and if not - well I think it still makes sense most of the time.
I highly recommend you to watch it whether you're a fan or not. 10/10

Good Movie, But a Disappointing & Unsatisfying End to the series...

Overall, it may be said that the movie was good. The direction,
cinematography & the special effects were brilliantly executed. The
acting was good too. The children have grown so much.

But, this isn't the way The Harry Potter saga was meant to end. A movie
which is supposed to mark the End of an Era could have been much
better. With the expectations I had, I was a little disappointed. It
DID NOT have the depth and the emotional impact WASN'T nearly as good
as the book.

I was pleased with Part 1 because it stuck very well to the book.
That's what I was expecting with this too. But no... they had to spoil
it. What's the use of making the movie in two parts if they can't do
justice to the book? They should have made it a Trilogy (as all great
movies are made, like 'The Godfather Trilogy', 'The LOTR Trilogy',
original 'Star Wars Trilogy', The Bourne Trilogy', etc.) or they should
have increased the length of the 2 parts. Who forced them to fit the
whole thing within 2hrs.15mins. each. ??(Every part of LOTR is over
3&1/2 hrs. long. No one had an issue with it). . *

** SPOILERS **

THE GOOD :

- Snape's and Voldemort's characters were played quite well.

- Throughout the series, Snape has been rather emotionless and
monotonous. But, in the pensieve, we see a refreshingly new emotional
side of him.

- Gringott's scene was nicely shown.

- They added the scene where Hermione & Ron destroy Hufflepuff's cup.

- They show the future (19 years later) scene. I thought it would be
cut.

THE BAD : (I have to mention these because I was disappointed as hell)

- My Biggest Disappointment - Snape's Memories. They showed the whole
thing within a minute. They're some of the most interesting & touching
scenes of the story. They just rushed through it, even excluding many
of the memories.

- Fred's death. They don't even show it. Then later it was ridiculous
to see Mrs. Weasley angry at Bellatrix when the latter was fighting
Ginny.

- The battle was too short and didn't the magnitude and impact as in
the book, with Centaurs, Goblins/Kreecher, Hagrid/Spiders, Ghosts, etc.

- They don't show the Common Rooms. I always imagined it while reading
the books. But I badly wanted to see them in the movie.

- They don't show Harry using the Cruciatus Curse on the one of the
Carrows.

- They wasted time in Nagini's chase.

- They don't mention about Teddy Lupin and that Harry was his
Godfather. They don't mention the names of Harry's other two kids.

- No mention about the significance of the horcruxes.

- No mention of Bloody Baron and his link with Ravenclaw's diadem.

- No mention about how the Invisibility Cloak came into the possession
of the Potters, how Harry and Voldemort are related through the
Peverell brothers.

- They don't show how Dumbledore communicated with Snape after he died.

- Harry doesn't even mend is wand. He directly snaps the Elder Wand
into two pieces...

- In the future scene, all the funny and cheerful dialogues are
excluded. Everyone's just smiling and staring at each other. And
moreover, none of the them seemed in their late thirties. Didn't the
film-makers have enough money to hire good make-up artists.

THE UGLY :

- Dumbledore's Story. He's my most favourite character in the book.
There's nothing about him in the movie. They just say he had secrets
(what secrets??). They don't even tell the story of Dumbledore sister,
Ariana. They don't show him getting emotional at King's Cross.

- The use of ridiculous one-liners and humourless jokes when the
situation is so intense and sad.

- Harry & Voldemort had their final fight in the middle of nowhere. No
one was even around to watch it. (In the book, they were in the middle
of the whole crowd.)

- Bellatrix and Voldemort die bursting into confetti!

ALL IN ALL, it wasn't the send-off the series deserved. Someone who has
grown up reading the books and watching the movies in the series will
understand my woes...

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164 out of 239 people found the following review useful:

2 Films for 1 Book, yet misses 1/4 of the story....

I don't know what I was expecting... To be honest apart from the first
HP movie... every single one of the following movies has left out major
plot points, characters and story lines. I guess I figured that was
mainly because the movies only have a certain length of time to tell
the story. Thus it was natural for me to assume that with 5+ hours they
would be able to include everything in the one book... I assumed
wrongly.

First off - Do not see this in 3D... The 3D is an after thought and
literally added nothing to the experience. The only scene that was 3D
that stands out in memory was the death of Voldemort and his confetti
explosion.

What did they get right? Well its hard to say really.. I was really
disappointed with the pacing for the first half of the 2nd part. It
felt slow and weird and anti-climatic the entire way. The bank scene
and special effects seems average and low budget for a franchise with
such high profits. The acting from everyone doesn't quite do the job.
Snapes "redemption" scene was acted out really poorly by Alan Rickman..
which is a shame because I was really looking forward to it as it's one
of the more moving parts in the series. The only scene that felt like
it mirrored the book accurately was the Kings Cross section (apart from
Harry having clothes on...) My main gripe with the movie is that they
left out so much considering they had two movies to cover it. Harry
telling Neville to kill the snake and thus Neville having and important
role in the ending of the war <- This part was the ONE part I was
looking forward to when Neville pulls the sword out of the hat and cuts
Nagini in two... Yet they changed it to Hermione and Ron battling the
snake and Neville coming in as an afterthought... The entire war at the
end was missing - Centaurs, Goblins/Kreecher, Hagrid/Aragog and just
felt very anti-climatic and also have very poor CGI. The entire point
of the Deathly Hallows is missed out with Harry not claiming ownership
of the wand and reflecting Voldemorts death spell back onto him, and is
replaced with a VERY tame action scene that went for about 10 minutes
(its then mentioned as an afterthought by Harry post battle). The scene
when Harry confronts Snape was also bizarre and seemed unnecessary...
Overall the changes and missing scenes left me feeling very empty.

My girlfriend hasn't read the books and she enjoyed it.. So I'm sitting
here wondering if the knowledge of the books hampered my enjoyment of
it. I have no doubt this film will be hailed a success and will make
bazillon dollars, but I can't help but feel that another director/team
could've handled this a lot truer to the books.

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242 out of 403 people found the following review useful:

An exhilarating action-packed spectacle that delivers a magnificent finish to the beloved fantasy franchise

An incredible journey that began a decade ago finally arrives at its
close with David Yates' "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part
II", as 'The Boy Who Lived' comes face to face with 'He Who Shall Not
Be Named' in an epic showdown between good and evil. And what a
showdown it is- tense, thrilling, breathtaking, and fitting of just
about any superlative you can think of.

Whereas the first instalment of the 'Deathly Hallows' emphasised the
profound sense of loss and isolation among Harry, Ron and Hermoine,
screenwriter Steve Kloves and director Yates leaves behind the moody
atmosphere of the previous movie for newfound immediacy and urgency.
This is all about that final battle where only one can live, and from
start to finish- for once in a Harry Potter movie- the action is swift
and relentless.

Part II picks up right where the previous film left off- the dark Lord
Voldemort smiles in evil triumph as he steals the most powerful wand in
the world, i.e. the Elder Wand, from the tomb of beloved Hogwarts
headmaster Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). The next shot is
equally ominous- students are marched rank-and-file through a Hogwarts
courtyard, watched closely by cloaked Dementors hovering over the
school grounds. If there was any need of a reminder of the danger
facing our three protagonists, these opening sequences should just
about refresh one's memory of what is at stake.

There is precious little time to waste, and the first we get to see
Harry, Ron and Hermione, they are already hatching a plan to break into
Gringotts to retrieve a Horcrux. Their break-in settles upon a plan of
deception that allows for some rare moments of levity in the film, as
Helena Bonham Carter gets to ham it up as a polyjuice-disguised
Hermoine impersonating Bellatrix Lestrange. This being the first 'Harry
Potter' movie in 3D, Yates caters for some distinctive thrills in the
additional dimension with a roller-coaster ride through the vault,
culminating in a daring escape on the back of a dragon.

But as readers of the book will tell you, the last stand happens back
at Hogwarts, and true enough, after this thrilling early set-piece at
Gringotts, the trio head back to the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
to confront their foes. It is also where the last Horcruxes are
supposed to be, and Harry's return to the once sunny and cheery grounds
now besieged by darkness and doom becomes a true test of allegiance.

Fans will be glad that Kloves gives room for otherwise supporting
characters to step into the limelight- in particular, Neville
Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) emerges as one of the unlikeliest but also
truest heroes on the side of good. The Hogwarts stalwarts also get a
chance to show off their magic, and Yates gives each largely enough
screen time for the heroic send-off they deserve.

Yet he reserves the most emotional moment in the film for Severus
Snape's (Alan Rickman) vindication, long thought to be the Judas
Iscariot-equivalent in the Order and the one who pushed Dumbledore to
his death. Yates delivers a truly poignant and deeply heartfelt
revelation of Snape's true colours, and it is a farewell that even
those who have read the book and can expect what is to come will be
overwhelmed by its sheer emotional muscle. While Part II was always
meant to be an action-packed spectacle, it is to Yates' credit that
there is still as much heart as before in the storytelling.

Though brief, this revelation also works brilliantly as a catalyst that
propels Harry to come to terms with the sacrifice he has to make.
Harry's realization of this leads up perfectly to the ultimate duel
between him and Voldemort, one that is fierce, ferocious and- thanks to
Yates' imagination- more exhilarating than reading it off the page.

The outcome of that battle shouldn't be a secret by now, and when the
'happily-ever-after' coda in Rowling's book set 19 years later is also
faithfully adapted here, you can't quite help but be moved by how it so
properly gives the series closure.

They are of course no longer kids here- Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint
and Emma Watson now young adults who have through the film series grown
up right under our eyes. While Part I had greater emphasis on Ron and
Hermoine, the focus here is squarely on Harry and Radcliffe truly
shines in this instalment- his usual understated performance allowing
his audience to appreciate the enormities of the challenge before
Harry.

That we can be so fully immersed in Harry's world is testament to the
craft of each and every one of the technical team. Production designer
Stuart Craig does a masterful job portraying the devastation around
Hogwarts, complimented nicely by Eduardo Serra's beautiful
cinematography and Mark Day's skillful editing. Alexandre Desplat's
evocative score, which combines his own elegiac work with both the John
Williams theme as well as Nicholas Hooper's mournful composition for
the sixth movie, works magic with the visuals. And most deserving of
credit is none other than director Yates himself, who has matured movie
after movie to deliver a crowning achievement for the series.

Pardon us if we have also taken this opportunity to extol the merits of
the 'Harry Potter' franchise- it's really hard not to considering how
this is the last time we will see the Potter-world in its current
incarnation. It is this to which the movie is a farewell to, and it is
as beautiful a farewell as it can be, packed with visual spectacle on a
scale never before seen in any of the other films and fused with the
same powerful emotion as Part I and the Yates films before. All good-
even great- things have to come to an end, so there is really no better
way to bid adieu than with this grand and glorious final chapter.

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204 out of 334 people found the following review useful:

Brilliant!

I was thoroughly immersed in this movie from start to finish and when
leaving the cinema (twice in the last 24hours) I could only hear the
endless chatter of comments like "That was great" and "Brilliant way to
end the series".

Though, in my opinion, some key factors were missing or needed more
exploration I think you'll find it's easy to clue on whether you've
read the novels or not. Some previously main characters were lucky to
slip in a line or two whilst some of the more minor characters sneaked
their way up to the top.

The film was brilliantly directed. Music, lighting, script; everything
was flawless. Some scenes had my skin crawling and heart racing for
absolutely no reason other then the fact that it was utterly eerie, it
was hard not to grip the armrests in anticipation.

Dramatic musical build up mixed perfectly with lingering silences in
all the right places. Spots that would usually host a soft violin were
left with the honest and real quiet so that you could wrap your head
around everything.

My emotions were chewed up and spit out over and over, I didn't know
whether to grieve, cheer, laugh or scream and neither did the audience
I was with.

By the end I couldn't even think of the fact that it was the end of an
era, I couldn't even grasp everything that had happened which is why
I'll be going to see it for the third time within this next week.

You wont regret paying for the full experience with this one.

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141 out of 221 people found the following review useful:

"It all ends" well

This movie could not do any better, it ended the Harry Potter series
with a bang. It is a good balance from the first part of The Deathly
Hallows. The first part was more of a drama, while part two was action
packed left and right. This may be my favorite movie of the series,
though all of them are equally amazing. I have read the books, and
there are definitely major changes in the movie, but I find they fit
perfectly well with the story, even if it isn't the original plot. Even
for those who haven't read the books (why wouldn't you?!), it is
equally enjoyable. This movie, along with the rest in the series, will
be loved for years and years to come.